FREE NEWSLETTER: Econintersect sends a nightly newsletter highlighting news events of the day, and providing a summary of new articles posted on the website. Econintersect will not sell or pass your email address to others per our privacy policy. You can cancel this subscription at any time by selecting the unsubscribing link in the footer of each email.

Econintersect: What is going on in the world of banking? From The World Bank, to a couple of central banks to other banks around the world there has been a wave of resignations in recent weeks. Also, a head of state has resigned in disgrace and even the Vatican has had to deal with priests who have been conducting illegal activities out of theVatican's official bank. We can even conclude this report with a juicy rumor about a high profile CEO. Some of the resignations do not appear to be connected with scandal or performance issues, but others have connections to political controversy and some are clearly tainted.

Follow up:

World Bank CEO Zoellick ResignsWorld Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he is stepping down, raising the possibility that a non-American might be chosen for the first time to head the 187-nation lending organization. Zoellick, 58, informed the board he will leave June 30 at the end of a five-year term, during which he led the bank’s response to the global financial crisis. Read more: Reuters 15 February 2012.

Anz Bank CFO Australia ResignsThe chief financial officer of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. announced recently that he will resign from the position, a move that will reportedly lead to a significant executive shuffle. According to MarketWatch, CFO Peter Marriott says he plans to pursue a non-executive career after spending 15 years as the bank's finance chief. Marriott will officially leave the financial institution on May 1, at which time institutional banking head Shayne Elliott will reportedly take over the role. Read more: Proformative.com 16 February 2012.

Nicaraqua Central Bank Pres Rosales ResignsNicaragua’s Central Bank President Antenor Rosales quit amid differences with President Daniel Ortega over plans to use central bank reserves for the creation of a regional bank for a Venezuelan-led bloc of Latin American nations, known as Alba. Read more: Bloomberg 14 February 2012.

Swiss Central Bank Head Resigns After his wife made more than £45,000 in currency trades by shorting the Swiss franc just weeks before the central bank intervened to halt its advance and then closing the position afterwards, Philipp Hildebrand resigned as head of the bank "to proterct the institution." Read more: The Telegraph 09 January 2012.

Royal Bank of Scotland Australian CEO Stephen Williams ResignsAndrew Chick will step in to lead Royal Bank of Scotland's Australian arm after Stephen Williams quits the role. Mr Williams confirmed yesterday that he will relinquish his position in three to six months. Read more: The Australian 16 February 2012.

Kuwait Central Bank CEO ResignsThe head of Kuwait’s central bank of more than 25 years has resigned, state media said Monday, in the latest shake-up among the Gulf nation’s veteran policymakers as political tensions grow. The official Kuwait News Agency said Sheik Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabah, a member of the Gulf nation’s ruling family, has stepped down after serving as Central Bank governor since 1986. Read more: The Washington Post 13 February 2012.

Slovenia TWO largest Banks CEO's (2) ResignNova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. and Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor d.d., Slovenia’s two largest banks, are without chiefs as they struggle with mounting bad loans. Andrej Plos, the chief executive officer of Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor, who took the helm of Slovenia’s second-biggest bank in January, offered his resignation today without giving a reason. Bozo Jasovic, the CEO of the larger Nova Ljubljanska Banka d.d. stepped down in December over the bank’s attempt to sell the holding in retailer Mercator Poslovni Sistem d.d. to the Croatian rival Agrokor d.d. Read more: Bloomberg 15 February 2012.

India Bank CEO Chaturvedi ResignsMumbai: Amitabh Chaturvedi quit as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd on Monday, following alleged differences with the bank’s board on a range of issues relating to business strategies. P.G. Jayakumar, the bank’s executive director, took over as the new managing director and CEO, according to a release from the bank. Read more: livemint.com 06 February 2012.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank CEO ResignsA couple of days after Dhanlaxmi Bank's chief executive resigned, the top post in Tamilnad Mercantile Bank has also become vacant. A K Jagannathan, managing director and chief executive of the Tuticorin-based, old generation private bank, put in his papers on Thursday, citing personal reasons. Read more: Business Standard 10 February 2012.

Bank feud: Chairman Giles Quits VNB with Other DirectorsA feud over corporate governance compounded an already painful December for a major Central Virginia financial institution. Virginia National Bank has experienced a leadership shake-up that has seen nearly one third of the board of trustees quit including the chairman, Mark Giles. "My resignation is effective immediately," Giles tells President Glenn Rust in a December 19 letter that followed an apparently contentious meeting earlier that day. Read more: The Hook 23 December 2011

Four Priests Charged In Vatican Banking ScandalItalian investigators have charged four priests with laundering money out of the Vatican's official bank, the Institute for the Works of Religion, the National Catholic Reporter's John L. Allen Jr. writes. The Italian daily l'Unita was the first to report that the priests were being investigated for laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars. It's the latest in a series of investigations into Vatican finances dating back to 2010. Read more: Business Insider 09 February 2012.

German President Christian Ruff ResignsIt's not a banking head resignation but Germany's president resigned in disgrace February 17 after failing to gag newspapers investigating him over political favours. The resignation of Christian Wulff – a victory for Press freedom – is an embarrassing blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had hand-picked her political ally as president. Read more: The Daily Mail 18 February 2012.

And finally how about a juicy rumor?

Blankfein out as Goldman Sachs CEO by Summer?FORTUNE -- Lloyd Blankfein may step down as chief executive of Goldman Sachs as early as this summer; and president and chief operating officer Gary Cohn is the lead candidate to replace him, according to a Goldman executive and a source close to the firm. Read more: CNN Money 17 February 2012.

Econintersect News Blog

The growing use of ad blocking software is creating a shortfall in covering our fixed expenses. Please consider a donation to Econintersect to allow continuing output of quality and balanced financial and economic news and analysis.

Keep up with economic news using our dynamic economic newspapers with the largest international coverage on the internet